Wednesday, June 30, 2010

How gorg is this bike? A friend sent me the link to the NYC shop Adeline Adeline a few weeks ago & I've had it open in a tab ever since. I miss biking so much. I miss how much ground you can cover in such a short amount of time. I miss our long bike rides up in the Hudson Valley & our jaunts over to Red Hook. It was so bad at one point that when bikers would pass us, John would tell me not to look. Since we're not doing another Ironman any time soon, this would be my bike of choice. It's just so darn pretty!

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Have you heard of Pinterest? It's my latest obsession. You can "pin" any images you find online & organize them into "boards" where you can neatly view, edit & share content.

My interior design/spacially-talented friend is coming over today to help me plan out the nursery, so I've started collecting ideas on Pinterest for easy viewing & referencing. My collection of things seems to weigh heavily towards boy. But growing up as sort of a tom boy, I think that's just fine:)

Monday, June 28, 2010

I must have said this 100 times on here, but one of my favorite things about exhibiting at the NSS is meeting (& meeting up with) people. This year, I met Claudia of Fig. 2 Design who asked me a few questions for her blog, where she plans on chronicling her journey to the NSS 2011. Claudia has posted the interview, so go take a look if you're interested.

Friday, June 25, 2010

I wish these views were from my desk. I still have this big sky on my mind this morning & am finding it a little tough getting settled back in to my (hot, hot, hot!) city home. Some day, we'll have lots of sky as our neighbor, but until then, I'll keep these images close by.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Hello everyone! I'm still a bit sleepy from long flight delays & getting in late last night, but I wanted to share a few horsie shots from visiting my friend who lives on & manages a horse ranch in Wyoming for the National Outdoor Leadership School. It was my last big trip before the baby comes this fall & I loved every second of being in the open sky, sunshine, cool nights, and even horsie-smelling air. I'm not very comfortable around horses (for some reason, I always feel like they're going to kick or trample me), but this trip had me warming up to the big guys.

This one, above right, is Leo. Leo came to the ranch last August as a wild mustang & is a total sweetheart. He came down with a little infection while I was there, so we were out in the pasture vetting him every day. Well, I wasn't - but I was petting him, which I'm sure helped:) That's his buddy Squirt, who stayed by his side the whole time - so cute. It's nice to be home, clean & showered, but I'm kinda missing these guys this morning.

Friday, June 18, 2010

As you know, my niece has been here at L&H with me all week. In between writing thank you notes (if you ordered a birthday calendar in the past week, she wrote your thank you note!) and exploring the city a bit, she's been working on her paper quilt (above) and making her own stamps (one below). For the quilt, she researched quilting patterns, sketched it out first, planning every square & triangle and then put it all together. I love the way it turned out, don't you?

And then this morning, I found this sweet note on my desk:) How cute is she?

I'm heading out west this afternoon to visit a friend for a few days (last time flying before the baby comes!), so I won't be back on here until next Thursday.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

My niece & I went to pick up some stamps yesterday that she had designed. I hadn't seen "my stamp guy" in a long time. I used to see him every week when I was doing a lot of stamp work. At times, I went through stretches of seeing him every other day. I've always kept him under wraps because I got the feeling (and he even told me one time) that he wanted to keep it that way. But yesterday when we showed up & caught up for a bit, he told me about this feature that The Bride's Guide did on him & his business back in April. Editor Shira Savada calls him a "secret weapon" to Martha Stewart Weddings. I think many people would agree, including me. But now that Martha has put it out there, I can too:) If you're in the market for custom stamps, Donald is your guy. In addition to making great stamps, he happens to be a very nice person.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

I've had a lot of outings this week while my niece has been visiting. And as a result, I've seen & done things I haven't in years - fabric & button stores, the Met, candy meccas, favorite lunch spots. It feels really refreshing & reminds me that this is not only why I love living here, but that I need to get out more on my own.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Sunday Suppers just announced its next three classes and the July 18 one is right up my alley. It's a "Ladies Lunch" taught by The Jewels of NY, followed by a Saipua flower class. It's the day after my 30th birthday & this would be the perfect gift to myself:) I'll be away that weekend, celebrating my birthday with my dad & nephew (who's birthdays are the day before & the same day as mine) as we do every year. But this is just about as good as it gets. Well done, SS! Someone sign up & tell me how lovely it was.

Sign up for the Ladies Lunch here. And see the other three Sunday Supper offerings here.

In other news, my niece is here at L&H with me this week. Yesterday we hit up my favorite little lunch spot in the city, Grey Dog, then headed up to Paper Presentation for a paper errand, then to B&J Fabric and Daytona Trimming. Big day out. Today, we're meeting up with my sister at the Met to see the exhibit American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity. And while we're up there, we're going to check out Dylan's Candy Bar:) Perfect mix of culture & candy!

Monday, June 14, 2010

I had heard about "the new pie place on 3rd Ave" from a friend who always seems to know of new spots before anyone else - or at least me:) We happened to pass Four & Twenty Blackbirds on our way back from Lowe's on Saturday (our tomato plants are growing so fast, they needed some more stake support) and made a quick pit stop. I'm sorry I didn't take any interior shots because it's so well done - the kind of place where you could park yourself for hours. Isn't the front so cute, too? Reminds me of a London store/cafe-front. And the pie. Oh, the pie! We got slices of Rhubarb Crumble and Salty Caramel Apple. Both were delish, but the Salty Caramel Apple was beyond. I'll definitely be going back here.

Friday, June 11, 2010

I mentioned my ribbon swap on the 2011 Calendar a couple weeks ago, and here they are side by side. The old synthetic "shoelace" ribbon on the left, and Carta Inc.'s Italian cotton ribbon on the right. I had originally thought a thicker ribbon would be better, but I instantly fell for the sweet & simple nature of this thin one. It also feels 100 times nicer (it's Italian. duh!) and bigbonus on convenience: the knot fits through the hole, so there's no need to untie the bow after each month. I hope you all agree that this was a great little update. (Thank you, Angela!)

Want to know when the 2011 Calendar becomes available? Sign up for our newsletter over there on the top, right.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

One of my favorite things about living in New York is how things constantly change. Buildings go up, go down, streets close, stores open, restaurants open, lines form around the block for both. Even in four years in our little corner of Park Slope, we've seen restaurants & shops come and go. Nothing is static, and something is always new.

I want to start making a concerted effort to explore those somethings new. The new taqueria down the street that was described to me as "La Esquina, but fresher" or the "new pie place on 3rd Ave." We all hear about these new places every day as a New Yorker. So I'm going to start a little part of this blog called About Town, where I go somewhere new - a shop, a restaurant, a park, a museum - anything new, or new to me.

Last night was my first About Town visit to pop bar, a gelato-on-a-stick place in the West Village I had read about a couple months ago. I got strawberry dipped in milk chocolate and man was it gooood! I want to go back to try the other flavors. Banana dipped in milk chocolate? Mango? Mixed Berry? Yum!

It's official - the Birthday Calendar is now up in the shop! I've been dying to share it with you. Do you even know what a Birthday Calendar is? I was surprised to hear some people at the NSS not know what they are. Some people call it a perpetual calendar. With 18 pieces & nephews' birthdays to remember, it's definitely a birthday calendar to me. I've had one (an ugly one) on my wall for years & decided it was time to make my own. Check it out here.

Friday, June 4, 2010

As you know, I'm transitioning to a shop that releases monthly projects in a limited quantity. While I still have yet to launch the first project, the Birthday Calendar (coming Monday!), I've got lots of ideas brewing about what's to come. And summery themes are among my favorite, so these sailboats just might be making an appearance in July. Stay tuned.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Do you belong to Gilt Groupe? I was a little late to the parade on this one, but I joined a few months ago & have bought a maternity dress, a John Robshaw runner, a shirt for my niece and a juicer - and all at least 50% off. Gilt drops great clothing, housewares & deals every day at noon & the stuff flies - so you have to be fast with those little fingers.

Yesterday, I spotted these cool earrings from Kara by Kara Ross (who went to my high school!). I don't usually gravitate towards snakes & skins - but these have just the right amount of scales for me. And they're 50% off. Someone, go get em!

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

A quick belly shot for you this morning from last weekend, outside the lovely O'Hare Airport. The temps are rising fast here in Brooklyn & this Mama needs loose clothes stat - but no tents or boxes - which Bryn put perfectly, "is not the look you're going for." I only have maternity jeans & I get hot just thinking about putting them on. Must get to Target asap!

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

I got two surprise packages in the mail last week. The coupons for free Italian ices came from a fellow Philly-native client who also loves Rita's and the cutest book from a friend that brought tears to my eyes when I read it. Nothing beats mail - especially unexpected, thinking-of-you mail.